1927 Ford Model T Roadster - Evolution

Maybe it was growing up standing on the running board of his great-grandfather’s ’27 Ford woodie wagon. Maybe it was his involvement at age 10 in its restoration with his dad, John. But one thing’s for sure, Street Rodder’s Road Tour wizard, Jerry Dixey, has spent a lifetime under the magical spell of Ford’s Model T.

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It’s interesting, in fact, that a guy who has crisscrossed the country countless times over the past 15 years in some memorable hot rods, amassing over 375,000 miles would want nothing more than one of Henry’s earliest offerings. To put it mildly, Jerry has pretty much seen it all, done it all, and knows what spins his crank when it comes to his own cars.

Nothing tracks the evolution of hot rodding better than studying all the subtle changes the hobby has experienced as the decades have passed. With each era personifying different facets of taste and style, the ’70s sure raised the bar when it came to retro. No we’re not talking about disco, bell-bottom jeans, or eight-track players, however, it certainly was a transitional time for rodding. With the resurgence of hot rods infused with daring designs and innovations, the ’70s was an era that always appealed to Jerry.

This is where our story shifts to where a young machinist named Bob Gutzke from Detroit began to gather parts in 1970 to build an era-perfect ’27 Ford T roadster. After corralling a low-mile Buick 215ci Nailhead V-8 and early ’60s Jaguar XKE suspension components, he fabricated a 2x4 rectangular steel frame to support all of the critical parts and topped it with an original Ford ’27 roadster body. With the car in mock-up form, he suddenly got the urge to start construction on a ’27 Ford coupe so the roadster project was moved to the back of the shop. The innovative T coupe went on to win the coveted Ridler Award in 1975 while the little roadster still managed to gather parts living under a veil of cobwebs.

3/6The 215ci Buick Nailhead was cleaned up and treated to an Offy two-pot intake capped with Rochester carbs tuned by Dan LaGrou. Power spins through a custom 700-R4 by Gearstar Performance Transmissions while spent gases are dumped through a 2-1/4-inch stainless exhaust by Stainless Works of Chagrin Falls, OH.

Flash forward to the Road Tour at the NSRA Southwest Nationals in 2003 when Jerry just so happened to strike up a conversation with Bob Reynolds of the NSRA who mentioned the subject of Bob Gutzke recently selling off his Ridler-winning coupe. Reynolds then mentioned that Gutzke had relocated to Florida and that he just so happened to still have his unfinished T roadster project. Enthused by hearing of the 30-year-old project, Jerry contacted Gutzke and in the course of the conversation made a deal to buy the car sight unseen. Excited didn’t even come close to the level of enthusiasm surrounding the new purchase since the car was born in the ’70s and Jerry was determined to keep the car era-correct for the remainder of its build.

Once the project was picked up and delivered back to his Classic Automobilia shop in Youngstown, Ohio, every patina-covered part was laid out and evaluated prior to getting started. Sifting through all the goodies was like stepping back in time, and while items like brakes and steering would be updated, the majority of the components would be retained. Jerry wasted no time enlisting the help of Tony Stanko to undertake the arduous task of glass beading 30 years of grime off all the steel and aluminum parts, as well as tidying up the frame to prepare the roadster for its next stop. At the same time, the body was sent out to American Metal Cleaning in Cincinnati, where James Taylor prepared it to be dipped and stripped, revealing whatever dirty little secrets lurked under its surface. With everything tidied up, the chassis was reassembled and along with the body, was delivered to BMS Engineering in Youngstown, for Brian Mulichak, Mark Lucicosky, and Sam Tufaro to begin work. The talented team got busy by first clamping the body, fenders, and running boards to the rolling chassis to establish and fabricate all of the needed mounting brackets. From there, the Buick mill and transmission were set in place along with a Walker Radiator “cooler,” and custom mounts were fabbed to anchor them to the chassis.

4/6Starting with a pair of vintage Triumph TR2 seats, Matt Baldwin at Woody’s Hot Rodz trimmed the interior of the tiny T to perfection using yards of soft golden tan vinyl complemented by saddle brown carpet. A stock dash supports dials from Classic Instruments while a Lobeck’s V8 Shop steering wheel sets the course along with a Lokar shifter.

Once all of the fabrication was complete, the body was removed and sent over to the legendary Wade Hughes in Cincinnati. Hughes and his team brought the vintage sheetmetal back to life by first replacing any questionable panels, then setting the body lines, and finally priming and blocking the body to perfection. Having a low-mile mint 215ci Buick V-8 ready to go, Jerry enlisted help from Nailhead guru Dan LaGrou of D&D Fabricators in Almont, Michigan, to set up the induction using an Offenhauser intake matched with a pair of re-jetted Rochester carbs. For gear changes, a modified GM 700-R4 automatic by Gearstar Performance Transmissions of Akron, makes sure shifts are crisp.

5/6Starting with a pair of vintage Triumph TR2 seats, Matt Baldwin at Woody’s Hot Rodz trimmed the interior of the tiny T to perfection using yards of soft golden tan vinyl complemented by saddle brown carpet. A stock dash supports dials from Classic Instruments while a Lobeck’s V8 Shop steering wheel sets the course along with a Lokar shifter.

With the body reattached to the rolling chassis it was then delivered to Lobeck’s V8 Shop in Cleveland, to be put through its paces. A thorough evaluation by chief fabricator Dan Tesar proved that the Jaguar front suspension wouldn’t make the cut. Also, in order to properly locate the front wheels within the fenders, a decision was made to stretch the chassis and fenders an additional 2 inches. Tesar then focused on the rear of the chassis by first fabbing rear-axle stabilizer bars and then adding a set of Pete & Jakes coilover shocks to soften the bumps to the Jaguar rearend tidied up by A-Plus Powder Coating. With the elimination of the Jaguar front torsion bar setup, a Chassis Engineering 2-inch dropped axle with matching spindles, Pete & Jakes hairpins and tube shocks, and a Durant Enterprises monoleaf spring gave the spine an era-correct feel. To bring the car to a screaming halt, fluid pushed through a Kenny’s Rod & Custom dual master cylinder via stainless lines gets the message across with Chassis Engineering discs up front and Jaguar discs rebuilt by Stainless Steel Brakes out back. For a perfect hot rod rake, steelies from Wheel Vintiques are capped with Michelin front and Goodyear rear rubber all navigated through a Unisteer box.

While the chassis was being dialed in, Mark Mindzora and Jack Taunt were busy installing new steel floors and custom-fabbed trunk area sheetmetal. The team also installed the vintage Triumph TR2 seats, lined up the new hood and sides from Hagan Street Rod Necessities, and Shadow Rods windshield frame and stanchions. Once Jack gave the body a final going over, Mark loaded his spray gun and laid down a decadent coating of custom-blended PPG Retro T polished green suede bringing the car to life. Once reassembled and wired, the T was fired up by the Lobeck’s team, giving Jerry the chance to shakedown the car prior to its final detailing. The car was then delivered to Woody’s Hot Rodz in Bright, Indiana, where Matt Baldwin designed a business office using plenty of comfy golden tan vinyl to recover the vintage Triumph seats and lay down complementing saddle brown carpet. The interior was completed with a Flaming River column topped with a Lobeck’s steering wheel while vitals are monitored through Classic Instruments dials. Woody’s also fabbed up the neat headlight bar and rollbar, which went off to Sherm’s Custom Plating for added dazzle. Thanks to the cumulative efforts of numerous talented stars and the support of his devoted wife, Mary Ann, the Retro T was debuted at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville in 2010. Knowing Jerry’s reputation for driving thousands of cross-country miles, we’re sure this is one hot rod that will never gather any dust.

6/6From the back, the Retro T sports a distinct rake letting you sneak a peek at its early ’60s Jaguar XKE rear suspension paying homage to the car’s ’70s-era roots. Rolling on Wheel Vintiques steelies shod with black rubber, the graceful flow of the fenders gives the car a racy feel.